Lizette Olausson - Sweden
Passion - Freestyle / Dog dancing

Lizette and her dog Lotus are famous for winning the Swedish Got Talent 2020. Lizette has trained dogs for 30 years in many different dog sports. She has competed at national team level in both obedience and freestyle and has, among other things. a two World Cup golds - one with the obedience national team and one with the freestyle national team. Together with Lotus, Lizette won the Swedish Championships in freestyle 2021 and they are a Swedish national freestyle team member. The latest achievement was the World Championships in freestyle in Paris on April 24, 2022, where they placed in an impressive 4th place.

Lizette has her own company, Kaplansgårdens Hundsport in Vingåker where she holds dog courses. She also works as a night nurse for 10 nights/month. Lizette has 2 border collies - Trolleyes Lotus who is 4 years old and Nordic Paws Marble Fox "Midas" who turns 2 years old this summer.

View their show from WC in Paris: 

Why did Freestyle become your biggest passion?

It is probably close to my heart because there is no template for what it should look like. There are always new things to learn, new ideas, and new skills to try. With a bit of imagination, there are infinite things to develop together. I also enjoy training the routines with music and performing in front of an audience, that is really super fun!


How did you get in touch with the first quilt from Out-n-out? 

In November 2021, Lotus and I were down south in Sweden and demonstrated Freestyle in a super nice multi-hall Torvalla Arena. I heard a lot of talk about a jacket in power stretch that would fit perfectly on dogs even during work, so of course, I wanted to try it on Lotus. The jacket fit extremely well, was warm but was also super flexible. The dog barely noticed that he was wearing it. Both Lotus and Midas each got a power stretch to wear in training and also a warm wool to wear on the outside when it's really cold, and I'm so pleased...

When and why do you use jackets on your dogs?? 

I have an indoor hall where I train daily, all year round, and that hall has no heating whatsoever. The Power Stretch blankets are so incredibly flexible that I actually always use them when it's cold, even during hard training so the muscles are kept warm. During rest and walking in between sessions, they can also wear their warm wool jacket. It gets so warm and nice with 2 layers of jackets. 

What is the most important characteristic of a Freestyle dog and why??  

The best thing about freestyle is probably that pretty much everyone can practice the sport. If you have a slow dog, you choose a calm song and tricks that suits that particular dog, and if you have a fast dog, you adapt music choices and your tricks to fit the dog's character.

How often and how much do you need to train to be on top?

If by "being on top" you mean being part of the national team and going around the world and competing with the very best, I would say that it takes an enormous amount of training. If, on the other hand, you are content with taking the championship and competing at the Swedish Championship level, you can manage with much less training.

Lotus and I are currently part of the freestyle national team, so now we train quite a lot. I probably train my 2 dogs between 3-5 hours/day. I also think it's important to mix with days without any training.

What is the most important characteristic of a freestyle dog trainer?

That you think it's super fun to create a program for the music together with your dog. If you want to compete, it's important that you think it's fun to perform with your dog in front of an audience.

When do you think it's time to end the dog's competition career? 

Unfortunately, it is usually injuries and medication that ultimately put an end to the competition.

What do you think is important for the old competition dog?   

Sometimes you can step down and switch to a physically easier dog sport such as nose work, rally obedience, or hoopers when the dogs get older. Competing is not really important at all for the dog, but I believe that it's important that they can participate and get attention.

Does any of your dogs have a hidden talent?   

Both are full of talent and it is used to the full when we create our programs. Everything different and a bit odd is an asset, so there is nothing hidden left. Everything is taken care of.